Big fillip to sports in Kakatiya University

Warangal: In a bid to give a big fillip to sports in addition to the academics, Kakatiya University (KU) administration has resolved to knock the door of the Central Government to get infrastructure under 'Khelo India' scheme, a national programme for development of sports.

At a time when universities across the State were facing severe fund crunch, the very thought of encouraging sports is far from truth. However, the KU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Thatikonda Ramesh seems to have found a way out to make things happen in the varsity. Since he took over the reins of the KU, Prof. Ramesh has been in pursuit of improving the standards of education besides focusing on extracurricular activities in the varsity.

"Sports serve as a good stress buster; hence being active in sports will have a positive impact on the students' academic performance. Education and sports should always go hand in hand. The plan is to improve sports infrastructure on par with the international standards," Prof Ramesh told The Hans India.

V-C's proposal included synthetic athletic track, synthetic turfs for hockey, football, volleyball, handball, kabaddi, wrestling etc. This apart, a modern swimming pool and a human performance laboratory with a state-of-the-art facility that provides expertise in sports medicine and athlete support service. The varsity has plenty of land which can be used to develop sports infrastructure, Prof Ramesh said.

"We can organise sports competitions – State and national level - if we have proper sports infrastructure. Our students can broaden their horizons by mingling with their counterparts from other parts of the country if we organise such tourneys," Prof. Ramesh said, referring to the success of 60th National Open Athletics Championship (NOAC) organised at the synthetic track in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Hanumakonda.

Referring to the funds, the V-C said, "We have six MPs in the KU academic periphery and a host of legislators. In addition to Khelo India, we will pursue them for grants under their local area development (LAD) funds."

In another development, the KU administration has decided to introduce diploma and certificate courses in Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya, flagship programmes of the Telangana Government, from the next academic year. "Initially, these courses will be offered in distance mode by the KU's School of Distance Learning and Continuing Education (SDLCE) before introducing them as regular courses," Prof Ramesh said. Students who have completed intermediate and polytechnic are eligible for these courses.